Today we’d like to introduce you to Vito Spino.
Hi Vito, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
its as much my family’s story as it is mine. My grand parents started the Soup House in the early 1960’s which is now our banquet room, it had a hoarse shoe shaped counter with about 13 stools. My grandmother made fresh soups daily and there were a few Italian dishes and some sandwiches on the menu. My grandfather would park cars for all of the people working down town and charge them, probably 15 cents or a quarter to leave their cars there for the day. My father built Anthony’s around the Soup House in 1978 and that’s when the restaurant began. I would help dry silver wear in the kitchen when I was a kid and then when I didn’t want to do that anymore I would go outside in the parking lot with my grandfather, we called him Pops, cause I knew no one would bother me if I was out there with him. My mother worked in the kitchen 5 days a week making the lasagna, Italian dressing and home made deserts and then go home and take care of our house, she is a beast. My great grandmother was also in the kitchen all while I was growing up. I started bussing tables when I was 11 because my older brother Anthony had already been doing it for a couple of years and I looked up to him my entire life. I started waiting tables when I was 15 and then from there bounced around from whatever position my father put me at, dishwasher, cook, prep, whatever. Learned how to bartend when I turned 21 and then me and my brother slowly started to get into the managing aspect while also still working the positions that we were needed at. My brother, me and my father ran the restaurant together until my brother got married and moved to New York around 2013. After Anthony left me and a buddy of mine ran the restaurant with my father then covid hit. My friend went on his own way, my father who had been distancing himself little by little finally fully retired and I have been running the restaurant since then with my Anthony’s crew.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The restaurant business is never a smooth road, its more like a roller coaster, up, down, and all around. Some of the struggles along the way include trying to pay bills, employees, wondering why sometimes you are so busy and why sometimes you’re barely doing 40 people a day. Finding good employees that care about the restaurant, fixing and maintaining equipment and the building itself. Price changes, inflation, everything getting more expensive every year and trying to figure out how to raise your prices enough that you can still pay bills and employees without running off your customers. Balancing family life and business and trying to make time for both.
We’ve been impressed with Anthony’s Restaurant & Lounge, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a family owned Italian restaurant. All our recipes come from my family. We have been here since 1978 and we are still going. We are known for our food, our ambiance, our service, personality and heart. What sets us apart is that we are Anthony’s, we are family in every sense of the word, we are us. I am most proud that I can keep this business, that was started so long ago, going. I know where i come from and I know the sacrifices that my family has made for us to be where we are at today. I want people to know that we are here, that we are still serving wonderful, simple and delicious Italian food for everyone to come and enjoy.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is my family and my crew here at Anthony’s. That I am able to take care of them and knowing that they are taking care of me at the same time. The why is because that is what family does.
Pricing:
- 25-35 per person
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kcanthonysongrand.com
- Instagram: anthonys.on.grand
- Facebook: Anthony’s Restaurant & Lounge
